Few will remember, but many years ago former Texas Governor John Connolly was thought to be a leading candidate to replace Spiro Agnew as Vice President, and when he sought the GOP nomination for president in 1980 some thought he was a sure thing. Connolly had corporate support, was from Texas, and promised to blow all competitors out of the water.

He failed, but this year’s John Connolly, Karl Rove, is putting together a campaign to win victories for Republicans in 2010. Who invited Rove?

The notion that a liberal Republican pollster responsible for destroying the limited government Republican brand and the one person responsible for Republican losses in 2006 and 2008 can lead anyone to victory in November is a cruel joke. The Tea Party movement has thrashed the very Republican Establishment that Rove signifies and Rove’s mere celebrity will deter some voters from going to the polls.

Today’s New York Times reports, however, that Rove has recruited a brain trust of political professionals and the daughter of Dick Cheney and corralled funds from some GOP corporate types with deep pockets. Much like John Connolly who had money, but no persona, Rove will venture forth with cleverness that passes for gravitas and fall flat on his face.

Rove’s effort is a joke, his prominence in some conservative circles explains how deep is the corruption in the conservative community, and his efforts will backfire on all those whose hands are tarred with the gift for self-destruction of George W. Bush.